'I never get to see that': Kudakwashe Rutendo on Black female representation in Shut Up You're Pretty
On Day Three of the Canada Reads 2024, Kudakwashe Rutendo shares why she connected with protagonist Loli
While Téa Mutonji's Shut Up You're Pretty is a short story collection, the sections revolve around one central character, Loli, a young woman coming of age in Scarborough, Ont. As she makes memories and mistakes, she contemplates her Congolese traditions and her place in Canada.
For actor Kudakwashe Rutendo, Loli's experiences really resonated — and she shared how important this representation was for her on Day Three of Canada Reads 2024.
"Loli stuck with me because her character experienced things that I've experienced verbatim," said Rutendo.
Because some of the prejudices Loli faces aren't often talked about, Rutendo found it so hard to watch Loli go through them. She specifically cites one line from the book, where a character tells Loli, "I'm just not attracted to Black women."
That was a powerful moment for Rutendo — not only because she's empathizing, but because she's lived it. "I've heard that my entire life," she said.
I haven't been able to truly feel beautiful. Because in every instance, my Blackness has come into conflict with that.- Kudakwashe Rutendo
"In this day, in this age, I haven't been able to truly feel beautiful. Because in every instance, my Blackness has come into conflict with that. And to see [Loli] struggle with issues that I've struggled with in that way, I've never had representation in literature like that."
"I've always had to put myself into other people's experiences, but no one has ever sat down and said, 'as a Black woman, sometimes people make you feel less.'"
Rutendo explained that reading a character who puts what's happened to her into words was part of what drew her to Shut Up You're Pretty. It might be challenging for people coming from an outside perspective to reconcile with that pain, but it's a matter of learning about an experience different to their own.
"It's my experience and I never get to see that."
It's my experience and I never get to see that.- Kudakwashe Rutendo
The 2024 Canada Reads contenders are:
- Athlete and CBC Sports contributor Dallas Soonias champions Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
- Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi champions Denison Avenue by Christina Wong & Daniel Innes
- Fashion influencer Mirian Njoh champions Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
- Actor Kudakwashe Rutendo champions Shut Up You're Pretty by Téa Mutonji
- Author Heather O'Neill champions The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou
Here's how to tune into Canada Reads 2024:
ONLINE: CBC Books will livestream the debates at 10:05 a.m. ET on CBCBooks.ca, YouTube and CBC Gem.
The debates will be available to replay online each day. The livestream on YouTube will be available to watch outside Canada.
If you'd rather listen to the debates online, they will air live on CBC Listen. A replay will be available later each day.
ON RADIO: Canada Reads will air on CBC Radio at 10:05 a.m. in the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones.
It will air at 11:05 a.m. in Nunavut, the Maritimes, 1:05 p.m. in Labrador and at 1:35 p.m. in Newfoundland.
The debates will replay at 9 p.m. local time in all time zones, except in Newfoundland, where it will replay at 9:30 p.m.
ON TV: CBC TV will broadcast Canada Reads at 1 p.m. in the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones. It will air at 2 p.m. in the Atlantic time zone and at 2:30 p.m in the Newfoundland time zone.
PODCAST: The episode will be posted each day after the live airing. You can download the episodes on the podcast app of your choice.
